


Radiant Blossoms (Pale Flower side stories)

by gnomeicecream, KRMalana



Series: Overwatch yakuza AU [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yakuza, F/F, F/M, Gen, Genderfluid Character, Lil Tokyo of Los Angeles, M/M, Organized Crime, Police Commander/ Task Force Head! Jesse McCree, lawyer!Shuichi, transphobic bullying (chapter 1), yakuza!Shuichi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 07:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9112930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gnomeicecream/pseuds/gnomeicecream, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KRMalana/pseuds/KRMalana
Summary: Side stories and scenes that didn't quite fit into "Pale Flower" (our Overwatch yakuza au fic) but are still important.Current Chapter:  Lucio's First DayDay in the life of Lucio as he begins his internship with the LAPD under an international lawyer(Relationship tags as well as more character / additional tags to be added per chapter)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Side stories and scenes that didn't quite fit into our Overwatch yakuza au fic "Pale Flower", but that we still deemed important or needed for the main story. Tags to be updated as chapters are posted.
> 
> Chapter 1 should be read after Pale Flower chapter 3 but prior to chapter4. 
> 
> TW for chapter 1: transphobia bully via cop towards Shuichi

"I was wondering if you would consider an offer..."

I mostly did it to look out for the kid, ya know? She was new to the country, didn’t have any family or support, and it would be really easy for her to be taken advantage of. My mom understood, like she usually does. Worried, like she usually does. But I’m not gonna make a difference if I let fear get in the way, so I took the offer. I’m starting today. The paperwork is what took the longest, really. Apparently there are a lot of non-disclosure agreements and training you gotta go through in order to be an intern to an international task force lawyer.

They were really small. Crazy long hair. Expensive clothes, impeccable English that even included common Americanisms. Something about ‘em seemed a bit dangerous. Pulling two people out of jail for no reason. Smiling like they’re playing a game. But I can’t tell if they’re like that as a person, or that scary of a lawyer. In the meantime, my potential charge of disturbing the peace has waived for community service for however long this investigation is for, so at your service, Mx. Horada.

I rode my bike in for my first day today. Big, green, neon accents, purring eco friendly engine and stickers from each of my away matches on the saddlebags. I’d worn my best khakis and a nice polo. Business casual, since no one’s told me what I’m supposed to be wearing for this internship.  
I check in, get my ID’s, then walked around while waiting for the boss human to get in.

Hana Song and Mx. Horada walk in together. Must have met up somewhere with the way Hana was already talking with them a mile a minute. She was hard to miss with her bright pink pants and white jersey, pink and green headphones around her neck. I'd have to ask later what type of music she liked. Horada was muted by contrast in dark blue dress pants and vest and a lighter blue dress shirt, with a red ribbon instead of a tie.

Just the way they walked was purposeful and controlled, the image of a cat coming to mind. I had to wonder again what they were like in court: the one you'd dread seeing or the one you'd be thankful for. Would they be there because they simply wanted to win or because the case mattered to them? I should see if Mx. Horada would let me tag along if they were still here by the time this moved to the courts. Could they even argue before a United States court? Well, if I was going to be working with them, might as well find out as much as I can, right?

As the two moved down the hall, Hana grinning and waving, a cop rammed into Horada as they passed. Noteworthy only because the lawyer had already moved to make more room to the side and the cop's expression ugly. More than enough evidence that it was on purpose. The lawyer gave a soft expression of pardon without breaking stride, and I had to wonder how much crap Mx. Shuichi Horada was used to dealing with.

I wave, and get a high five. “Hey, look at you! Like, all official and working for the Man.” Hana says.

“What, unlike you? Hey Mx. Horada.”

“Please, Horada is fine, or Horada-san if you’d like. Are you ready to get started? I feel well qualified to give the tour as my own was not that long ago.” They laugh in a self-depreciating sort of way.

“Yeah sure, though we’ve both kinda already seen it.” The short term holding, interrogation rooms, and the booking area are pretty familiar from my previous visits. We get an abbreviated tour, meet some people. Lena, fast talker, British accent, computer tech. A striking dressed woman at her desk handing her glass food containers, French accent, wife. Torbjorn, short, grumpy, has an interest in city planning and totally agrees that Vishkar’s permits aren't in order. Jack Morrison, figurehead type, overworked, barks orders. Georga Parks, human resources, two cats and seven grandchildren, thirty years on force.

“And this is the copy room. I have been warned away from it, but I am sure that you’ll need to become familiar with it in the course of your duties. Um, I’ll ask around to find someone to train you though I don’t know when they’ll have the time.” At a call of their name the lawyer turned to a giant of a man coming down the hall towards us. “Hello Chief Wilhelm.”

"Hello!" The man bellowed happily. I'd only ever seen the chief of police in the distance or on TV, and even that didn't portray just how big he was. Someone might have wanted his size as an intimidation factor to keep people in line just from the sight of him. But he had a genuine looking smile.

“These are my new interns, I am sure you saw the paperwork. Lucio and Hana, please meet Chief Reinhardt Wilhelm.”

The smile stays, but his brows furrow a little as he looks the two of us over. “Hm, ja. About that. Let’s talk in my office.” He gestures down the hall, careful to keep his reach from knocking into anything. 

Me and Hana share a look. She raises her eyebrows and I shrug, trailing behind the two. Damn, Horada barely comes up to the Chief’s torso!

The office has a desk, two chairs in front of it, and a wall with a cabinet/cupboard combo covered in files. The desk has a few potted plants, and those little white labeling stickers. Horada takes a seat. I look at Hana again. She crosses her arms and doesn’t take the last chair. Intern solidarity ftw! We flank our new boss and look very cool, we hope.

“If you’ll give me a few minutes to make a short call now that you are here.” Wilhelm thumbs a hands-free earpiece into his ear as he dials a cellphone. It looks pretty ridiculous, like a giant bear trying to handle teacups.

“Fareeha, do you have… Yes. In the blue and green files. Do you have a moment-- No, those are from last year. Yes. In my office when you could, ja. Mhm. Horada. No. That’s not fair, you don’t know that for certa-- I know. We can discuss this in person in a few minutes. Mhm. I will. Good bye.” He puts the little phone back in its holder. It has a sticker of a reindeer on it. “I apologize. Do you want something while you wait? I have coffee, tea, some pastries.”

"Thank you, I'll take some tea." They glance at each of us in turn so we know we can actually get something if we want. It takes everything I have not to laugh when the chief turns to a cabinet and pulls out an actual tea cup and saucer, with a whole set glimpsed behind the door. He must be used to making it for someone with the way he goes about making it proper then setting the steeping cup in front of our boss.

Horada's cheeks pull in a wide smile as they touch the porcelain. "This is a lovely pattern."

"Ya. Ana, er, Fareeha's mother, always picks some up when she travels. She brought some of her collection in when it got too big. Sure you two don't want anything?" He looks up again as he sets the pastry plate on his desk. "Homemade strudel."

Hana breaks at that, a soft mumble at taking one to snack on later as it is whisked into her pocket. The warm, friendly air of the offices turns when a woman in a uniformed suit strides in. Was that an FBI badge hanging from her neck? Never seen a Fed before. So they were working on the case too. "Good morning everyone."

Horada gets handed a small stack of files with letter number combo names on them. Someone needs to get these people into the 21st century with some electronic files. Easy to transfer, hard to lose, saves paper.

Wilhelm makes her a cup without asking, and she sits in the last seat. She takes a measure sip before speaking. “I’ll be blunt. You are a security risk, Mr. Horada, and your interns are an additional one.” Now her attention is on us. “Your conduct will reflect directly on Horada. If you lead to a compromise of this investigation, I will personally fire the lot of you and have you brought up on charges. You do not talk about anything you see here with anyone. You do not post about it on your Facebook. Horada has your packets detailing security measures that will be in place for all files taken from the building. Summarily, do not. Does anyone have questions so far?”

I quietly step on Hana’s foot when she opens her mouth. She closes it.

“Nah, man, we got it. Thin ice.”

“Good. Oxton is working to follow up on the information gathered from Ms. Song. Be available to answer questions. She will also be handling a portion of your training. Mr. dos Santos, since your undergraduate degree was in pre-med you will be working with Dr’s Winston and Zeigler for half of your scheduled hours, when Horada can spare you. Today, you will be working through our online training seminars. Reinhardt will sign off on each completed section. Tomorrow, we will be working on the additional training you will need to work potentially sensitive information. Until then, you are not to touch anything or there will be consequences. I suggest you take notes. Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to speak to Horada in private.”

I take a strudel out of spite. One less for you, and I’ll leave on my own time, thank you. Outside the door Hana and I share a look again.

“Wow, that was the fourth degree. Like we’re criminals or something.” Hana says. “I thought you were in law school?”

“Yeah, got my bachelors in pre-med though. Life happened and law seemed like a better way to help people. And there’s more synergy between those fields then you might think. Ma told all my aunties that I couldn’t decide on whether to be a doctor or a lawyer, so I chose both. I also D.J. and vigilante.”

We share a giggle and our strudels, getting powdered sugar on our hands. Soft and deeper voices murmurs reach us in the hall and we both blatantly eavesdrop by wordless agreement. Or we would if a certain cowboy hat wearing officer wasn’t striding up the hall towards us. 

“Well, don’t ya’ll look like a bunch of high schoolers waiting outside the principle’s office.”

“Well, if it ain’t the school mascot, come to cheer us on. Go fightin’ Cowboys!”

McCree cracks a smile at my joke. I've run into him at some point on nearly all my incidents with the LAPD, so he's gotten to know my sense of humor. Tipping his hat back he gives a little pose, "You two are just jealous how good the hat looks."

"Yeah, on the movie set you got lost from," Hana shoots back. The kinda teasing that’s also testing, trying to find her footing.

The cop only shrugs, "When in Hollywood..."

"But we're in LA!"

"Close enough," He takes a quick glance into the office and notes the occupants. "Heading out? Court stuff all squared away?" The two of us share a grin.

"Nope! You see..." I begin to explain.

Hana finishes, "... we've decided to stay permanently!"

McCree blinks. Then blinks again. “What do you mean?”

“We’re gonna work for Horada. Do public service, ya know, as interns. We don’t even have to appear in court.” Hana reaches over for a high five.

“...Nobody tells me shit. It’s not as though I am the goddamn head on this-!” Jesse sucks in air through his teeth. Tries to turn it into a smile. “Welcome to the team. Excuse me. It seems I gotta talk to the chief.” He stalks through the door without knocking. The voices stop.

Hana looks after him, worrying at her bottom lip. “Do you think...he was mad?”

“I dunno, maybe? Maybe just about being kept out of the loop? For the extra work?” We can hear him talking pretty clearly. He forgot to close the door.

"So... we're getting interns?" Jesse asks, voice an even level.

The big police chief sits up a little more in his chair. "Mr. Horada discussed the idea with me yesterday. The email I sent…?"

A sigh makes its way to us, tired. "Haven't even had time to check mine yet, what with all that is going on... Just what are you trying to do, Shuichi?”

A tea cup settles against a saucer. "I do require some assistance. I'm not used to handling the law portion of a case entirely on my own, especially one in a country where I don't know the finer nuances. They can help get paperwork started, research law and previous cases--"

"So any ol' body will do, so long as its breathing? Nevermind that this is the most important case I've ever worked on and people are dyin'?” The tone of McCree's voice is strangely tight. Weird. In all the times I'd seen him I'd never heard him sound like that.

“What if Hana dies, Jesse? She’s alone, with nowhere to go which is exactly how people get pulled into the yakuza! And what about Lucio? He’s trying to become a lawyer, to uphold the laws of his country or challenge them to fix what is broken. What’s to become of him when his chances are taken away one too many times?” Mx. Horada's voice rises and falls. “I just…”

A chair creaks as someone leans forehead, and the two of us lean closer to hear. A muffled 'just explain what you told me, kleiner’ before the weight settles back.

"I want to help them.... Give them a chance." Another silent pause before the they continue. "When I was young I lost everything, and was on my own. Struggled, but despite it every day felt worthless. Until someone helped me. Small, maybe even insignificant to them, yet it changed my world forever. But if I hadn't been given that chance, where would I have ended up? In the ranks of the yakuza we fight? In a pleasure district, dead in some drug den? Yes I know it's a risk, Jesse, to help someone. But I'd rather take it then see Hana end up on a missing poster gathering dust, or Lucio give up when it seems no one is listening."

“Well. Shit.” It’s quiet for a while. McCree has the right of it. That was some heavy shit to lay on people.

It grates, a little, to be someone’s pity project, but they say that eavesdroppers seldom hear good of themselves. Still, maybe my impression of Horada was wrong. I look at Hana. She doesn’t notice, too absorbed in her own thoughts, looking downtrodden. I sling one arm around her shoulders and pull her into a hug. 

“Hey amiga, let’s go read up these packets. You’ll feel better doing something. Or grumbling how all the stuff is common sense. I got some tunes.”

“Yeah, ok! We’ll show them.”

“That’s the spirit, ya!”


End file.
